Thread: Romney immigration plan under attack

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Romney immigration plan under attack

By Terence J. Downing, Enterprise staff writer
TAUNTON — When state Rep. James H. Fagan, D-Taunton, hired Charla Lauriston as a summer intern he didn't know she wasn't a U.S. citizen.

“She was here legally as a green-card alien but she was never naturalized,” said Fagan, who learned of her status one day while they were talking about her school plans.

“Her family moved here from Haiti when she was young. She grew up here and was educated here. Culturally and socially she was an American, but legally she was not a citizen,” Fagan said.

Fagan sat down with Lauriston last summer and told the 2005 Taunton High School graduate the importance of becoming a U.S. citizen and encouraged her to obtain her citizenship.

Lauriston was sworn in as a U.S. citizen at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston in March, studying hard for the citizenship exam and making the time to go through the process.

Fagan paid for her $500 naturalization fee. “It's a great thing for her,” he said.

Lauriston, who is now a sophomore at Emmanuel College in Boston, was determined to become a citizen.

Fagan told Lauriston that without being a citizen she could not vote, could not hold office and could even be deported if she was ever convicted of a crime.

Fagan, a defense attorney, said the federal government is cracking down even harder on non-citizens convicted of crimes.

“The safety and protection of this country only works if you become a citizen,” Fagan says. “It's tremendously important to become a citizen here.”

But as much as Fagan advocates for citizenship, he is blasting Gov. Mitt Romney's proposal giving state police the powers of federal immigration law enforcement officers to arrest illegal or undocumented immigrants.

Fagan said the plan sounds good, but will end up being an enormous cost to taxpayers who will have to pay to process and jail those who are arrested and detained.

He said Romney's statement is aimed at “playing to a national political base that he hopes to gain the support of in his run for higher office. He's playing to the national right-wing conservative party members.”

Fagan said Romney's proposal is “totally idle and meaningless as far as application is concerned, but it may be of great political benefit down the road on the national stage.”

He said Romney has not said how and where the illegal immigrants will be processed and jailed. The cost of housing an inmate in the state is about $38,000 a year, he said.

“They have to go somewhere. Once they are in the back of a cruiser, they are our responsibility. Who is going to pay for it? What is step No. 2? The jails are full now,” Fagan said. “His plan would put an enormous cost onto the taxpayers.”

Romney's plan could not work unless it is well thought out, defined and part of a cooperative agreement with the federal government with reimbursement to the state, Fagan said.

Advocates for victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and other violence are speaking out against Romney's plan.

Annemarie Matulis of Taunton, founder and executive director the Southeastern Massachusetts Voices Against Violence, said the plan would have a chilling effect on immigrant victims coming forward, fearing their immigration status would lead to their deportation.

Many immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and their children would be forced to choose between remaining in abusive and violent relationships or risking deportation for reporting abuses.

“There are already have enough barriers preventing people from reaching out for help. We don't need more,” she said.

The region's Portuguese community is also opposing Romney's plan.

“It's ill-conceived and ill thought of. Giving police authority to have immigration enforcement powers will bring a state of fear among our immigrant community,” said Paulo Pinto, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers.

He said illegal immigrants who are witnesses will be afraid to come forward to report crime or not seek assistance for themselves if they are victims “for fear of being caught and deported.”

He said undocumented immigrants will also be reluctant to seek health care, which could prompt the spread of some diseases.

He said Romney's plan would “create an underground world more scary than it is now.”

He said illegal immigrants “are here for political or economic reasons, just like our ancestors. They're not here for vacation or because they don't like their families. We need to treat everyone as human beings.”

MAPS is a private, nonprofit organization that helps the Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Portuguese and other Portuguese-speaking communities to increase access and remove barriers to health, education and social services through direct services, advocacy, leadership and community development.

According to a recent study by MassINc and the Center for Labor Market Studies, Taunton has more than 5,600 immigrants making up more than 10 percent of the city's population.

The study says immigrants have become the state's principal source of new labor, but growing numbers are arriving with limited English-speaking skills and a substantial number lack a high school diploma. The study also found:

In the year 2000, immigrants made up 12.2 percent of the Massachusetts population, up from 9.5 percent in 1990.

The immigrant population in the Bay State grew by 35 percent over the course of the decade, reaching 773,000 in 2000.

Portugal was the most common place of birth for immigrants in Massachusetts, accounting for 8.6 percent of the foreign-born population, followed by the Dominican Republic and Canada.

He said illegal immigrants “are here for political or economic reasons, just like our ancestors. They're not here for vacation or because they don't like their families. We need to treat everyone as human beings.”

They SHOULD be treated like human beings, illegal law-breaking deported back to your country human beings.

Fagan said the plan sounds good, but will end up being an enormous cost to taxpayers who will have to pay to process and jail those who are arrested and detained.

It's a means to an end.

When I quit smoking, I was given a prescription to help me quit. I pulled up at the drive thru pharmacist, to pick up my prescription. While holding my little white bag, the clerk said you are aware this prescription cost $150.00. I gave her an odd look and she said, well some customers complain about the cost of prescriptions. I said, if one of them complains about this drug, tell them it will pay for itself in a month.

That's what I have to say about deportation. In my book, quitting illegal aliens is as beneficial and cost effective as quitting smoking.

Dixie

They should be detained for a very short period of time before they are deported. That will save the commonwealth millions. And yes taunton has a large illegal alien population which is why it is the dump of a town that it is.